D’Tigress has clinched their fifth straight Women’s Afrobasket title.
Glamtush reports that Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, have been crowned champions of the 2025 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket after defeating Mali in the final.
The Rena Wakama-led side clinched the title on Sunday at the Palais des Sports de Treichville in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Nigeria edged out Mali 78-64 in a tense showdown, displaying resilience and composure to claim their seventh AfroBasket title.
They have dominated African women’s basketball, winning their 29th consecutive game without a single loss since 2015.
With the win, Nigeria made history as the first country to win five consecutive Women’s Afrobasket championships, further cementing their dominance on the continent.
They also remain unbeaten in the tournament for a decade.
The last time D’Tigress lost an Afrobasket game was on October 2, 2015, against Cameroon.
As with most of their early games in the tournament, Nigeria got off to a slow start.
However, spurred by Mali’s intensity, Rena Wakama’s side regrouped in the second quarter and headed into halftime with the scores level at 41–41.
To qualify for the final against Mali, Nigeria had to dig deep to defeat Senegal 75-68 in a hotly-contested game, rightly dubbed “final before the final.”
A standout performance by Amy Okonkwo and Ezinne Kalu on Sunday night was critical to ensuring that the D’Tigress retained the title for a historic fifth consecutive time.
While Okonkwo contributed 19 points on the night, Kalu delivered 20 points, including several crucial baskets in the second and third quarters.
Promise Amukamara and Victoria Macaulay also made key contributions, while Musa added nine crucial points and four rebounds in a game that once again showcased Nigeria’s depth.
The Third quarter of the game proved to be very decisive, with the Nigerian ladies tightening their defence to outscore the Malians 20-15.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Nigerians led 61–56 and went on from there to win the game.
The victory has cemented the D’Tigress’ place as the most feared women’ s basketball team in Africa.
The win follows a hard-fought semi-final against Senegal, where D’Tigress needed a spirited fourth-quarter performance to secure a narrow victory.
Coach Wakama now has two titles in two attempts, having led the team to victory in 2023 as the first woman to coach a team to Afrobasket glory.
With the latest achievement, the team will be expecting a handsome reward from Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, who recently rained $100,000 cash reward on the female football team, the Super Falcons for winning their 10th WAFCON title in Morocco last weekend.
.
